Wednesday, 17 December 2008

Went for a 'morning round' around
Belait town with my staff and I managed to snap a few pictures of about unique sign
board in Belait Town Brunei Darussalam. I'm sure some of you know the location of this signboard.

Labels at one of the secondary school in Belait Town

Highway in Brunei

Had to hide the name of the street. Do you think the spelling is right?

Sunday, 14 September 2008

Bukit
Laur is located at Kampong Subok and is very close toBukit Marakucing.

Before
we start our hiking or climb, we were brief by one of the “kejiranan kampong
subok” member. There are 4 hills to climb and the peak is 632 metres from sea
level.We were told that from the hills we would be able to see the Ministry of
Finance (MOF) building. Few of the "kejiranan kampong subok" members join
us and become our tour guides. Some of them were also already at the hills to
put up the markers and were waiting for us.

it took
us around 40 minutes to reach the 4th hill. We can see MOF andDST HQbuildings, National Stadium,Parliment House,
Istana Nurul Iman, Temburong, Limbang and also I was told Mt. Kinabalu (although
I didn’t really see it this morning).

Brunei Ministry of Finance building with DST HQ building far behind

There
is a Bukit Laur triangulation station at the 4th hill. something like it is use by the survey department for land
measurement.

Overall
the trip was fun and enjoyable. I would love to join the group again for other
outings. Here's one of the video I took from the hill.

Saturday, 6 September 2008

LiveWIRE Brunei is a Brunei Shell Sponsored community programme created for the purpose of increasing the interest of the young especially those who are unemployed, through training, mentoring and encouraging them to venture into the world of business and become the future entrepreneurs of Brunei Darussalam.It was officially launched in Brunei on 1 st May 2001 , in response to Brunei Darussalam Economic Council (BEDC) effort to support infrastructure for enterprise development as a long-term sustainable economic development. It is officially funded by Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd; as part of its commitment towards the economic development of the country.

History (Global)

LiveWIRE is originally an international programme developed by Shell to support youth development specifically to help young people to become interested in setting up their own businesses and in working for themselves. Originally launched in UK in 1982, it is one of Shell's flagship community investment programs with a global roll out aimed at contributing towards a buoyant economy and a community of more fulfilled individuals. LiveWIRE International programmes are now running in Australia , Argentina , Abu Dhabi , Brazil , Chile , United Kingdom , Guam , Hong Kong , Hungary , Iran , Mauritius , Netherlands , Nigeria , Oman , Pakistan , Republic of Ireland , Romania , Singapore , Sri Lanka and South Africa.

LiveWIRE Chronology:

1982

Live WIRE launched in Strathclyde Scotland

The UK is home to the original Shell LiveWIRE. Since its launch in 1982 it has helped over 200,000 young people. Live WIRE is a national scheme that targets 16-29 year olds promoting the importance of enterprise. The scheme encourages youngsters to consider starting their own business and offers help to those who want to expand. The Enquiry Service, which provides free business startup kits, and the Business Startup Awards which rewards young business help achieve these objectives.

1983

Live WIRE expanded to rest of Scotland & Northern Ireland

LiveWIRE was started by Shell staff who recognized that job opportunities and apprenticeships for young people were reducing because of a decline in traditional industries, e.g. shipbuilding, light engineering, clothing manufacture, etc. Some young people were not waiting for others to find them an opportunity for work, they were attempting to create their own future by starting their own businesses. Shell wanted to recognize and promote this latter group to give them encouragement and to hopefully encourage others and so the first Live WIRE Young Entrepreneur Awards took place.

1984

Live WIRE expands further to England and Wales

Awards were run in Strathclyde and then introduced into the rest of the UK by 1984. Close contact with the young people (under 25) revealed that they received very little support. As a result a network of volunteer local contacts was established to help and encourage the young person develop their ideas and in the planning of their business; and the Live WIRE Outreach and Enquiry Service was born.

1985

Live WIRE is launched in the UK

England and Wales joined the network, and the first UK Live WIRE was launched in 1985. At the same time, a whole host of new government programmes, grants and benefits blossomed to encourage and service the rising numbers of young people coming forward to create their own work.

1987

Operation Live WIRE in Australia launched

The longest running Live WIRE programme outside of the UK, Australia's Live WIREE operation began in 1987 and now covers most states. The programme targets 18-25 year olds and encourages them to develop and critically assess their own business ventures. Entrants receive practical assistance and guidance from Live WIRE and experienced business entrepreneurs act as mentors during their three months idea development and planning stage. Cash prizes to the value of Aus $10,000 are awarded for the top three outstanding plans in each state.

1989

Savia Neuva in Chile launched

Savia Nueva, Live WIRE Chile, was launched in the Santiago region and in 1991 was extended to the Valparaiso region. Aimed at 18-25 years olds, Savia Nueva helps to transform ideas into viable business plans. Entrants receive advice and support from the Union of Christian Entrepreneurs and Live WIRE staff. After three months of planning an executive committee of Shell executives and the Union of Christian Entrepreneurs award cash prizes for the best plans.

1993

Életpálya, Live WIRE Hungary

Launched in 1993 to assist in developing an advanced market economy and to reduce unemployment. The project was welcomed by the Hungarian business community who formed partnerships with young entrepreneurs to help create an environment that encourages and supports starting your own business. Through Életpálya youngsters have been able to explore their own potential and receive training and business management materials from enquiry services, residential weekends, financial support and regional and national startup awards.

1995

Live WIRE South Africa and Intilaaquah in Oman launched

It was developed to help young people understand the importance of enterprise, start their own businesses, reward successful young entrepreneurs and raise standards of youth enterprise. Live WIRE South Africa has four programmes to stimulate interest in enterprise: Business Idea Generation Programme (workshops); Business Skills Training Programme (5 day intensive programme); Business Mentorship and Business Awards. The awards reward business operating for three or more years owned by young persons between 18-30.

The launch of Intilaaqah, Live WIRE Oman, helped the Omani government achieve their aim to diversify the economy away from reliance on oil and to reduce unemployment amongst young Omanis. Intilaaqah targets young, unemployed Omani's to encourage self-employment. Once they have formulated their business ideas Intilaaqah offers a programme of training and counseling through a network of volunteer counselors. The best business plans submitted after the training are rewarded with trophies and cash prizes.

1996

Live WIRE Netherlands launched

The Live WIRE Netherlands scheme began in 4 regions and has the support of Shell Nederland B.V., ABN AMRO Bank, Faktor Business Support and the Dutch Government /Department Economic Affairs. The programme targets 18-28 year olds and aims to raise awareness of the importance of enterprise and to help young entrepreneurs start up on their own. To help youngsters gain entrepreneurial independence, training and free counseling are provided. Business growth programmes are also available for those looking to develop their business.

1998

Shell Live WIRE International launched and LiveWIRE Ireland

Live WIRE launched in Ireland in 1998 to provide free expert business advice to entrepreneurs aged between 16 and 29. Live WIRE Ireland works closely with the Bank of Ireland and the County Enterprise Boards to provide entrants with direct access to business advice and expertise. 1999 saw the first Irish awards event won by Noely Daly of Cork.

2000

More new Live WIRE countries

Live WIRE Sri Lanka launched in early 2000 with results from the first six months now being collated. This was followed by the launching of the programme in Mauritius and Singapore. Many more countries are doing the feasibility studies.

TO MEET the increase in its scope of activities and to provide even better services to its stockholders and the community, LiveWIRE Brunei yesterday officially opened the doors to its new office and main headquarters to the public.

It was launched by Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Dewa Major General (Rtd) Dato Seri Pahlawan Hj Mohammad Hj Daud, the Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister's Office.

Also at the ceremony were Dr Grahaeme Henderson, managing director of Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) and Hj Zainal Abidin Hj Mohd Ali, deputy managing director of BSP who is also the chairman of LiveWIRE Brunei.

Established in 2001, LiveWIRE Brunei is fully sponsored by BSP.

To date, more than 2,500 young Bruneians have participated in LiveWIRE Brunei and over 200 have gone to set up their own business, said Dr Henderson.

"With more than eight per cent of LiveWIRE Brunei's participants successfully setting up their own businesses, this is an excellent success rate for such schemes and indeed is almost two times higher than the average for Shell LiveWIRE programmes elsewhere in the world," said the managing director.

In his speech, the managing director also spoke of the many successful graduates of LiveWIRE Brunei such as Pg Isman of Man Foods Enterprise and Leslie Lai, founder of Dream Cones outlets in the country, as examples of young entrepreneurs who have gone through the LiveWIRE Brunei programme and become mentors for other budding young entrepreneurs.

The new LiveWIRE Brunei offices feature a reference room and library, training room and the LiveWIRE Brunei Business Network Centre which has 15 cubicle offices complete with basic business facilities such as fax machine, Internet connection, meeting space and other secretarial services.

The network centre will be a form of startup office for rising company and is open to all those who are keen to start their small and medium enterprise at a minimal charge.

Friday, 18 July 2008

About Gawai Festival Day in Brunei Darussalam, which falls on the 1st of June every year, is a day for all
Ibans races in Brunei Darussalam to celebrate the end of the harvest season. It is a
tradition whereby Ibans will go back to their own village or “kampong” in Brunei Darussalam
and celebrate Gawai Day together with their families.

The celebration starts on the evening of 31 May.
In most Iban longhouses, it starts with a ceremony called
Muai Antu Rua
(to cast away the spirit of greed), signifying the non-interference of
the spirit of bad luck in the celebration. Two children or men each
dragging a chapan (winnowing basket) will pass each family's room. Every
family will throw some unwanted article into the basket. The unwanted
articles will be tossed to the ground from the end of the longhouse for
the spirit of bad luck.

Gawai Festival Dayak celebration may last for
several days. Visitors/Guests are most welcome to the homes of the Dayak
during the festival.

Sunday, 29 June 2008

holidays in brunei, Besides Udang Galah and Chendol Food in Brunei, one of Temburong District's
most famous product is wajid, the Brunei food too.
This brown sticky rice is sold for $2 for 8 small
pieces... See how expensive it is?

Saturday, 28 June 2008

Just Share, I
left Singapore for Brunei Darussalam about a week ago, shortly after the
launching of the new Brunei biometric passport has been made official in
the local papers. Having been bestowed Brunei citizenship by His
Majesty The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam three
months ago, I decided to exercise my right to apply for a Brunei
national passport.

The Brunei national biometric passport is a red little booklet for international traveling. The
biometric passport costs $60, and encompasses a whole new set of
security features - laser printing, a biometric chip, different
watermarks etc.

The new passport is aligned with international standards set by
International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO) and its biometric chip
contains permanent information of the holder's 10 fingerprints and
biometric facts such as facial image and so on to verify that the
examined passport is genuine and owned by the rightful person.

More
interestingly, the authorities have revamped the design of the passport
pages. It now contains some famous sceneries from around the capital,
e.g. Istana Nurul Iman and the famous Kampong Ayer.

The whole project costs the government
$7.1 million. One of the main reasons is to allow Brunei travellers to
visit nations such as the United States, which has enforced the use of
the new passport, in conjunction with its Visa Waiver Travel programme.
This means that I can now enter North America without a visa.

The
new passport also promised to cut down on entry processing time at
immigration to checkpoints. Brunei passport holders no longer have their
passport stamped when entering or exiting Brunei Darussalam since the
middle of April.

Recently, I felt extremely proud to be holding a Brunei passport.
Brunei is one of the three countries to enjoy visa-free entry in China
(PRC) for 15 days. Due to the upcoming Olympics, Singapore passport
holders now have to apply for a Chinese visa starting from July, whereas
Brunei passport holders can continue to enjoy the visa-free privilege.

Saturday, 7 June 2008

About Brunei Darussalam, Yes, Brunei forever grateful to the late and beloved Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III
of Brunei Darussalam, for his wise decisions on not to join Malaysia, otherwise, we would be
one of the top 3 poorest state in Malaysia... as what is happening in
the 3 oil producing states in Malaysia now.

2008/05/14 New Straits Times...

Oil royalty to states stays at 5%

THE 5% royalty going to Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu on oil and gas extracted by Petronas will not be reviewed.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Senator Datuk Amirsham A.
Aziz, said financial considerations prevented the government from
acceding to their requests for an increase in royalty.

This was because any increase in royalty to the states would eat into the 10 per cent royalty the government received from Petronas.

He
was replying to a supplementary question from Alexander Nanta Linggi
(BN-Kapit) on whether the federal government would look into increasing
its royalty from 10 per cent to 20 per cent.

To another
supplementary question from Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
(PKR-Permatang Pauh), Amirsham said the formula involving royalty on oil
and gas saw the government receiving 10 per cent, of which five per
cent was given to the three states.

To the
original question from Dr Wan Azizah, Amirsham said that between 2004
and last year, Petronas paid a total of RM26.839 billion in royalty to
the federal government, Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu.

Amirsham
said that based on current oil extraction methods, crude oil and oil
condensates were expected to last 22 years while gas reserves would last
39 years.

"Even though there are many years for the reserve
period (oil and gas) to expire, the fact is that the country also
imports oil and gas to meet some local energy needs.

"Thus, the country is expected to be a net energy importer by 2014," Amirsham said.

To
another question, Amirsham said oil production in Terengganu, Sabah and
Sarawak for the financial year ending March 31, last year, stood at
241.3 million barrels of crude oil.

Gas production was 2,081.4 billion square feet, he added.

He
said crude oil and gas products exported by the subsidiaries of
Petronas were sold at current world prices whereas the price for
domestic sale of gas-based products for the electrical and
non-electrical sector was fixed by the government.

------------------------------------------

The
Sabah, Sarawak and Trengganu people are angry that the Federal
Government is refusing to increase the oil royalty and some bloggers
mentioned that Bruneians were lucky to opt out of Malaysia when it was
formed in 1963.

Yes, we are forever grateful to our late and beloved Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III
for his wise decisions on not to join Malaysia, otherwise, we would be
one of the top 3 poorest state in Malaysia... as what is happening in
the 3 oil producing states in Malaysia now.

Just Share about Brunei Darussalam, There are several Chinese cemetery in Brunei Darussalam, a testimony of
how long the Chinese has been part of Brunei's society for such a long
time.
Top and botton:
The view from the Muara Chinese Cemetary

Top and bottom:

The view from the Tasek (Tasik) Chinese Cemetary

(within the Tasek Recreation Park, Bandar Seri Begawan)

Above: Some of the tombs at the top of the hill.
Bottom: Some of the damaged pictures in the cemetery complex.

Another damaged tomb....

Above: To protect from soil erosion...

The Chinese Cemetery on the "other" side of Brunei River could be the oldest Chinese cemetery in Brunei (or the Tasek Chinese Cemetery could be the oldest). In order for descendants to pay respects to their ancestors who were buried there, they must hail a boat from one of the many boats cruising in the Brunei River.

The cost per person to go to the other side of the Water Village is just 50cents. According to a colleague of mine, to ask for the whole boat will just cost about $10 to $15 and to pay more than that for the whole boat is already too much. Problem is that, he told me this after I have taken the boat ride to see other interesting things in the Brunei River and I have to pay double the price, i.e. $30!

Nevertheless it was the first time for me to go and visit the Chinese Cemetery at "Tui Bin Kang" (The other side of the river), though the name of the village where the Cemetery is located confused me... its either Kg. Bebakut, Kg. Sungai Si Amas or what?... I have to check this up...

Above: The entrance to the Cemetery is littered with rubbish... mostly washing machines...

The view from the top of the Cemetery...

Since this Saturday is a public holiday, it is a very good day for the people to come and clean the graveyard of their departed family members. Its good to see that despite the different income gap in existence then and now, many Chinese family still remember and honour their ancestors just like generations before... such practise should continue so that our future generation would know our culture and roots and understand who are present and past relatives were..

The Christian cemetary is just next to the Chinese cemetary...

Many Christian in Brunei are chinese and they also follow the Chinese tradition of visiting